Base for printing plates



L. A. NEUMANN BASE FOR PRINTING PLATES July v27, 1937.

Filed pct. 6, 1934 6 j w A. w a w a'ggz. WEI/U67 L ester/W JZeumanm,

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all v Patented July 27, 1937 UNETED STATES BASE FOR PRINTING PLATES Lester A. Neumann, Chicago, IlL,

assignor to M & L Typesetting & Electrotyping Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application October 6, 1934, Serial No. 742L158 1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in bases for printing plates and method of manufacturing the same, and has for its principal object to provide a new and improved form of base that is economical in manufacture, and provides greater flexibility for the mounting of printing plates, such as electrotypes, half-tones and zinc etchings, and also permits the insertion of standard printing type therein.

As heretofore constructed and used, bases of the general class to which the present invention relates usually consist of relatively large flat plates, cast with a plurality of holes of uniform size formed therein in close, equally spaced relation with each other, so as to cover substantially the entire surface of the base. Such bases are usually made up of a single casting, or a plurality of sections each formed with a plurality of holes therethrough, as described. The holes are provided to receive hooks of any suitable form, which serve to secure printing plates, such as electrotypes, half-tones or the like, to said base for printing. It will be understood, of course, that the size of such printing plates, and their arrangement on the base, may vary widely, depending on the make-up of each job. Accordingly, the entire base is provided with holes as described to permit any desired variation in positioning and adjustment of the printing plates thereon.

In carrying out my invention, I provide an improved form of base, made up of a plurality of separate units similar to the quads or spacers usually employed with ordinary printing type.

As a preferred embodiment of my invention, I employ square quads which are made in a standard or commercial form of type-casting machine, in which machine certain simple modifications in construction have been made, so as to produce my novel form of quad economically in large quantities, each quad having a cylindrical aperture or hole extending through the full length thereof, all for the purpose and advantageous results that will be readily apparent from the following description The invention may best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a base plate constructed in accordance with my invention, showing said plate set up in a chase and having certain printing plates mounted thereon.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a single quad forming a unit of my improved form of base.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 1.

be noted that the printing base is made up of a plurality of individual units each comprising an elongated block square in cross section, and having a hole 2| extending lengthwise thereof. A single block is clearly shown in Fig. 2 and preferably consists of a square quad of standard length which is formed in a standard type-casting machine, as will hereinafter more fully appear. The hole 2| is preferably of reduced diameter near one end thereof so as to leave an undercut shoulder indicated at 2P. The base I0 is made up of a plurality of such quads arranged side by side in the same horizontal plane, and secured together in the chase by lateral pressure so as to form a single base plate as indicated in Fig. 1.

The holes 2| are designed to accommodate hooks 25, of the usual form, which extend into the holes 2| and engage the shoulders Zi therein 'so as to secure the margins of printing plates such as 26 and 2! mounted on the top of the base as indicated in Fig. 1.

It will be observed that where the base is made up of individual quads as herein disclosed, any single quad or plurality thereof can. be removed as desired, and their places may be filled, or partially filled, by other quads or spacers of smaller size, such as by solid fractional quads 23 and 24 re-positioning of cerin Fig. 1, so as to permit tain of the quads 20 and adjust their holes to any location required to fit a given size or arrangement of printing plates. Thus, in Fig. 1 it will plate 21 has been located in a position in which its hooks are not in alignment with the majority of the holes in adjoining quads, this being made possible by the re-positioning of the quads in which the hooks are secured, as clearly shown in this figure.

It will also be observed that certain of the quads can be removed and their places filled by standard type as indicated at 28 and 29. r The type indicated at 28 is smaller than the quads, but the space beneath said type can be filled by an elongated slug 24.

My improved form of base, therefore, affords a wide variation and flexibility in the arrange,- ment and positioning of. printing platesthereon,

and also permits the use of standard type at any point or position on the base, when desired.

It will be observed, incidentally, that the finished quads 2B, 2B are utilized for forming the base in a position that is reversed or inverted with respect to the usual printing arrangement of regular type, when the latter are formed in the same machine. In other Words, when ordinary type such as indicated at 28 in Fig. 1 are inserted in the base plate, the matrix ends of such type are facingupwardly in the base, whereas the corresponding matrix ends of the quads are disposed at the bottom of said base. 7

Although I have illustrated and described one particular embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope rality of fractional quads arranged so that any one of said quads may be located out of normal alignment with adjacent quads so as to locate its respective hook-hole at any desired position on said base, and means for clamping said quads together.

LESTER A. NEUMANN 

